The Sudbury Wolves were in Timmins on Wednesday night for a rare preseason interleague game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Maritimes Hockey League.
Samuel Meloche got the start in goal for the Huskies while the Wolves went with Finn Marshall between the pipes to start the game. After half the game, both teams replaced their goalies with Alexandre Raymond entering the game for Rouyn-Noranda and Karsen Chartier taking his place between the pipes for Sudbury.
Exactly six minutes into the game, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead when Jeremy Jarret scored his first goal of the preseason, with Samuel Rheault picking up the assist.
Just under three minutes later, Jan Chovan scored for the Sudbury Wolves, with assists going to Kieron Walton and Noah Roberts, tying the game 1-1.
At the 9:57 mark of the opening period, Rouyn-Noranda regained their lead when Thomas Verdon scored his first goal of the preseason, assisted by Lars Steiner and Eliot Ogonowski, giving the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies a 2-1 lead over the Sudbury Wolves after the first period.
With 11:13 remaining in the second period, and with Kimani Eccleston serving a two-minute major for holding, Wolves’ forward Rowan Henderson scored his first goal of the preseason while shorthanded, with the assist going to Blake Clayton, tying the game 2-2.
With 2:46 to go in the middle frame, Winnipeg Jets’ prospect Kieron Walton scored his first goal of the preseason, assisted by Nathan Villeneuve, putting the Wolves on top for the first time in the game, by a score of 3-2 heading into the final period of regulation.
With 7:06 left to play in regulation, Vladislav Murzov scored his first goal of the preseason, with the lone assist going to Samuel Rheault, once again tying the game 3-3.
With overtime not taking place in preseason play, and since neither team was able to break the 3-3 tie, the game went into a shootout. Drake Berehowsky scored the shootout winner, giving the Sudbury Wolves the 4-3 victory for their first victory in the preseason.
The Sudbury Wolves are back home on Friday for preseason action against Northern Ontario rivals, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers the Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].